False Guardian Angel
by piyopiyoviolet
Summary: Kise firmly believes that Haizaki is the person who saved him from his darkest moments and despite the occasional beatings, he would still love him. Then, Aomine comes along. AoKise
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **The whole thing was sort of based off this line "The fallen, tricked angel bound to the chain. Suffering, suffering yet enduring the pain." Something like that and I just wrote in favour of physics.

**Summary: **Kise firmly believes that Haizaki is the person who saved him from his darkest moments and despite the occasional beatings, he would still love him. Then, Aomine comes along.

**Warning:** Possibly OOC. A dash of OCs. Vulgarities and violence (tsk tsk Haizaki). BoyxBoy. Spoilers if you follow the anime only. Errors. Self-beta. Imperfect English

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke, obviously.

* * *

The maiden flight of the newest AirCar F890 was something that was highly anticipated. 'Flight of the Century' as the newspapers put it, booming in bold on the cover page. With a fuel engine which ran completely on a revolutionary new fuel that was safe, renewable and clean all rolled into one, a luxurious giant body capable of holding twice the number of passengers as its predecessor, and the highest speed ever recorded for a commercial jet, it really wasn't a wonder why it garnered the interest of so many people.

Five hours prior to the actual launch people were already flocking by the masses to the airport just to catch a glimpse of the majestic beauty before it took flight. Environment conservation enthusiasts were all praise of the machine's fuel. Businessmen cynically watched the aircraft closely, monitoring its progress in living up to its name. Citizens with free time on their hands gathered to watch, it would be something to brag about amongst their friends later on. Journalists, whether from magazines or newspapers, were already armed with all their reporting tools- notepads, pens, recording devices. Some even have their cameras propped and at the ready, no doubt it would be for filming 'exclusive' clips. As people poured in hour after hour, alive with gossip, some people had no choice but to stand outside the airport. Excitement filled the air, drowned out the senses and drove everyone present into a hyped up state of animated cheer.

All the surrounding hubbub did little to console the ever growing feeling of nervousness that had began to pool in the pilot since the day he was told he had to pilot the AirCar F890.

Kise sat on the bench, feet going up and down to a messy and agitated rhythm as he tried desperately to will the fear away. It was still a mystery as to why the company wanted him to fly the jet. Sure, he was in his prime at the age of twenty-nine but there were way more suitable candidates in the industry, candidates who were years ahead in terms of experience. Candidates who were much more famous than himself. They hadn't even announced the pilot's name in the news. Weird. Man, he hasn't felt this jittery since his last basketball game during his final year of high school.

One last glance at the mirror to check his reflection and adjusting his uniform a bit, Kise stepped out of the little room with a small satisfied albeit very worried smile. Turning the corner, little sobs disrupted his train of thought. Raising an eyebrow, he followed the sound all the way to a deserted passageway restricted to airport staff only. Sitting alone in the dark was a little girl- maybe seven or eight- who sat curled against the wall, head buried in her hands. No doubt, the sniffs and cries were being produced by her. 'She must be lost.' Kise thought instinctively.

On that same instinct, he approached the tiny figure, calling gently for the girl's attention. She tentatively looked up but upon seeing his face her sobbing intensified to the point of wailing. "Mama. Mama's not here."

Kise patted her head softly whilst whispering softly to her, "Sssshh, it's going to be alright. It'll be fine. I'll help you find your mother." Eventually, the sobs that had shaken her entire body began to subside into a few muffled hiccups. Determining that she had calmed down enough, Kise extended his hand to hers. "Let's go find your mother." He offered. She hesitantly placed her chubby hand onto the pilot's outstretched one.

Standing up, she slightly dusted off her navy blue dress with her free hand before letting herself be lead by Kise down a labyrinth of corridors all the while keeping an eye out for her mother. Together they trudged along with Kise trying to get the child to loosen up by initiating small talk about anything from her name to the weather to her hobby – collecting stickers- until they heard a rather heated conversation going on further down the hall.

"You don't understand, my daughter ran in there. You have to let me in." A shrill voice laced with panic was saying.

"No can do madam. Restricted access means restricted access. We've already dispatched a team to look for her; it should be a matter of time now." Another voice, this time a lot lower and gruffer replied. He sounded annoyed; the conversation must have been pretty long and one-sided.

Taking that as his cue Kise motioned for the girl, apparently named Namine Aki, to follow him towards the arguing people.

"Is that your mother?" He asked, pointing to the smartly dressed lady.

"MAMA!" The girl exclaimed, face lighting up immediately. She dashed towards her mother who leaned down to scoop her in a welcoming embrace.

"You little… Mama was so worried about you!" The lady said placing sloppy lip-stick smudged kisses all over her daughter's cheeks and forehead. "Don't you ever run away like that again you understand?" Her attempt to sound harsh was overwhelmed by her evident relief at the reunion. The guard scoffed, obviously displeased before radioing a few people on his walkie-talkie, probably to call off the search team.

"Just look at Mr. Popular. So now not only do you pilot the maiden flight of the AirCar F890, but you do Samaritan service as well." The guard said to Kise tone half-joking, half-envious.

"You're piloting the AirCar F890?" The woman looked up in surprise. "We're boarding it later; oh it's such a pleasure. I really have to thank you for finding my daughter."

"No sweat, I hope I'll do well." Kise's reply was shaky.

"What are you talking about? You'll definitely do well."

"Uh-huh! Kise-nii will do a good job for sure!" Aki piped in all bubbly and cheerful.

Feeling a sense of determination he hadn't felt for a long time, Kise thanked the two and excused himself to do some pre-flight preparations. "Ah wait Kise-nii!" Hearing his new nickname, Kise turned around to face the petite girl. "Here." She said presenting him a yellow duck sticker she fished out from her pockets, the kind that was bordered by the little golden line that made your fingers hurt when you peel them. The slightly crushed form and the back's lack of adhesiveness signified that it must have been in her pocket for a while.

"Won't you need this for your collection?"

"'S ok, Mama is more important. I'll give you this as thanks for helping me." She flashed him a big smile before skipping off with her mother. Shooting him one last look and wave, she turned to talk to her mother. Happiness grazed her young features.

For lack of better place to place the sticker, Kise stuck it on his sleeve tentatively. He would remove it later when someone reprimanded him for defacing the proud uniform. At the moment, he was much too elated and confident to care.

A sharp vibration against his thigh made him yelp with surprise before taking out his phone. That's right he needed to switch off his phone soon.

_From: Aominecchi_

_Come back from Germany soon, idiot. I've got something to show you._

Kise snapped the phone shut, Aomine's words of encouragement had always bordered on the line of awkward but they were touching nonetheless. A spark of renewed determination stirred within him. He switched off the device and slipped it back into the recesses of his pocket, whistling as he made his way to the plane.

* * *

The takeoff had been smooth. The meter reading were all how they should be, the engines were running fine. Weather was expected to be calm for the whole flight duration. The trip was looking good; if anything it would probably be accelerated. The aircraft staffs were all excited about the prospect of returning early. Kise had just done the routine announcement to the passengers that they were now in the sky, wished them a happy flight and thanked them for their patronage.

That's when it happened. Alarms went off simultaneously, the little red lights blinking with much foreboding. An engine had been lost, the aircraft was plunging. Fast. Too fast. All attempts at executing the safety procedures were halted by the unstable falling aircraft. People struggled to remain in their seats while air stewardesses tried getting the people to grab their parachutes. Not that they were useable given the turbulence.

Meanwhile, Kise tried as best as he could to salvage the rapidly declining plane. He tried pressing buttons, flipping switches, everything he recalled from the every manual of training he had ever received in his time. Nothing seemed to be working. BOOM! And the aircraft exploded, people scattered in multiple directions. Kise could feel vertigo. Looking around he saw the little duck sticker leave his sleeve and flutter around gracefully amidst the blur of destruction occurring in the background.

_"What are you talking about? You'll definitely do well."_

_"Uh-huh! Kise-nii will do a good job for sure!"_

Craning his head left despite the air resistance he could see Aki and her mother huddled close together. Small pools of tears were gathered in their eyes. Aki opened her eyes long enough to stare at the blond before the two were hit by a piece of flying metal that used to belong to the aircraft. Her eyes looked so cold, lifeless with fear. No, wait, I'm sorry. Kise tried saying but he could be heard in the sea of screams. He couldn't lift up his hand, the pressure was too great. How could this have happened? The flight of the century going up in flames, the news would sell hotter than pancakes the next day. And it was all his fault. Why?

* * *

It was loud, too loud. Shut up! The screams wouldn't stop. They continued to pierce his ears even though he clamped both ears shut with his hands, they didn't even soften. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

"Why?" someone asked amongst all the maniacal screaming. "Why did you kill her? My sister, bring her back to me! Bring her back!"

The question stabbed his heart like a sharp blade. Stop it! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Tears were flowing uncontrollably now.

"Do you think your apologies can bring them back? Die to repent their souls in heaven."

"Kise-nii, why did you kill me? Why did you kill Mama? Why?" Aki bailed, the sight of the young girl in her navy blue dress going up in flames while she cried was imprinted into Kise's memory.

Blow after blow to his guilty conscience. By now his apologies had died down into something barely louder than a whisper. Someone help me…

It didn't stop. An endless myriad of mourning faces infiltrated his vision clearly despite the blur of tears. It hurt, make it stop, anything just make it stop.

"Why not just forget it? Forget it all."

When Kise opened his eyes, his vision was still pitch black. He couldn't see anything, only the faint sounds of people murmuring and the smell of antiseptic wafted into his ears and nose. Where was he? Why was he here? ...Who was he?

He didn't know and in response, he panicked. He was scared, scared of the unknown. He couldn't seem to remember anything. He felt sheets beneath his palm and balled them to calm his pounding heart. He couldn't make out anything in his surroundings, throwing him into a deeper state of confusion. He could feel his eyes water.

A rough hand placed itself over his, a comforting gesture. "Calm down, Ryouta."

"Who are you?" He said, unsure if the alien voice could be trusted.

"It's ok, I'm your boyfriend. You don't remember me now and you've been blinded in the accident but trust me, I'll take care of you. Thankfully, nowhere else seems to be injured."

"What's your name?"

"Haizaki. Haizaki Shougo."

"Haizaki Shougo?" Kise echoed, emblazoning the name into his new memories. It was a beautiful feeling, having something to hold onto while everything else spiraled out of control like a virus infection. Having Haizaki with him now is like having land to stand on even though the sea lapped about mercilessly around it. And someday, hopefully, someone would save him from the stranded island like how his memories would return. There was good possibility. But for now he was safe.

For now Haizaki would protect him.

For now Haizaki was his savior.

…

"What did I tell you about showing yourself to my guests?" A punch landed on Kise's cheek causing him to stumble backward and hit something, presumably the coffee table, as its sharp edge drove into Kise's back. "What if any of them wanted to make a move on you, huh? I could have sworn Kei was looking. That bastard!"

This was followed by a kick to the gut. "Tell me what I'm going to do. You're blind, not mute." Haizaki continued to assault the blond with kicks and slaps.

"I'm sorry Shougo-kun." Kise coughed out nearly choking on his own spit as he clutched his chest in agony, where Haizaki's previous blow had been more painful than the rest. Of course, other places were sore too but Kise could only afford to cover this much with both his hands.

Taking a look at what he'd done, Haizaki stopped. "Why do you always make me worry about you? Stay out of trouble from now on, ok?" He bent down and patted the blond mop of hair before pressing a kiss on his forehead.

Kise sobbed on the floor for a while longer as he heard Haizaki retreat to his bedroom.

Haizaki was his savior, right? It had to be true, Kise just made a small mistake. Yep, that had to be it.

* * *

"Still no news of Kise-kun?" a certain light blue haired man asked, looking up from his milkshake.

"Not a word. Cap. Imayoshi is planning on dropping the case altogether." The pink haired girl sitting opposite him replied.

"And how is _he_?" The man emphasized the last word for clarification.

There was a long pause. She shook her head, "it's not going well." She trailed. "I hope he gets better soon, it's been a month."

"I hope so too."

**A/N:** Ladies and gents, I present a horrible way to end a chapter. I ran out of steam... So here's to a new multichaptered fic by yours truly which will be updated as long as I have time, which is not a lot. This is relatively darker than what I usually write, unless it's for exams because I like to depress the teachers, or try to anyhow. Drop me a comment/ constructive criticism and I'll try to reply. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **A big thanks to everyone who left me a review/follow/favourite the story so far. Thanks, it means a bunch. I hope I haven't lost your interest yet so may I present, chapter 2.

**Summary: **Kise firmly believes that Haizaki is the person who saved him from his darkest moments and despite the occasional beatings, he would still love him. Then, Aomine comes along.

**Warning:** Possibly OOC. A dash of OCs- not this chapter though. Vulgarities and violence. BoyxBoy. Spoilers if you follow the anime only. Errors. Imperfect English

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke, obviously.

* * *

The ride is extremely bumpy and Kise who usually makes it a habit to stare out the window whenever he's in a car feels more than a little disoriented when the only sight that greets him is a never-ending path of pitch black darkness. At least he had company. Haizaki Shougo sat beside him, or Kise assumes he must be for his hand was so reassuringly placed on Kise's own. Somewhere in Kise's head the memories of the discussion he'd had with the man some days ago, the only memories he actually had now, played over and over in his head.

"What's your name?"

"Haizaki. Haizaki Shougo."

"Wait I don't understand… What happened?"

"You really don't remember?" Haizaki ventures with a tone that sounded more skeptical than concerned. For an instant something stirred in Kise, a sense of foreboding. It was trying to tell him something, screaming at him, trying desperately to convey a message that Kise couldn't decipher. Instead he chooses to nod.

"You and your family were on the plane heading towards your vacation destination. It had barely taken off before it crashed. No one else survived. I happened to be there to send you off and I was this close to depression when the paramedics pulled out a survivor, barely breathing and dirty." At this Haizaki puts a hand on Kise's shoulder. "I'm never letting you go again."

Droplets of salty tears make their way down Kise's face, staining a path as they went, at the strong feeling of loss and the gratefulness of having someone like Haizaki in his life. Haizaki pulls him in for a comforting hug, tracing soothing circles on Kise's back as the blond sobs uncontrollably into the man's shirt. His body is trembling and his grip on Haizaki's arm when he finally finds it after much fumbling, is tight while he spews words of apology and gratitude that promptly get muffled by the layer of clothing he's buried his head into.

"You'll be safe now; I'll take good care of you." Haizaki whispers, patting the blonds' head. "You'll be discharged in two days. When that happens I'll take you back to my place where I'll take care of you for as long as you live. I promise."

The crying gets significantly worse after that.

"Ryouta? Is something wrong?"

The sudden voice penetrating his thoughts jolts Kise back to reality with more force than he had expected. There had been a lingering thought in his head for quite some time, although his head was much too messed up to accurately put a finger on it at the time.

"I'm just wondering but… don't I have any friends?"

Kise doesn't recall having any but there was simply no way he would not have even one, right? What about relatives? Now that he thought about it the only person to ever visit him those past few days had been Haizaki and Haizaki alone. He couldn't have been that unpopular, could he?

"Why do you need anyone else?" Haizaki questions, his tone much more macabre as compared to before. "You already have me to protect you. There's no one else you need."

Kise flinched slightly. That tone, that tone sent shivers down his spine. Haizaki was just being a tad overprotective, it should be touching. Kise willed himself to think so before he clamped his mouth shut and refrained from asking further questions. Not that it meant he didn't have any. Like what about his family's funeral for instance. If it was a plane crash then perhaps a form of memorial of some sort or anything along that line. Haizaki didn't say another word but his grip on Kise's grew tighter, evidencing his displeasure so Kise opted to stay quiet although he does note that Haizaki never denies him not having friends.

The silence in the small taxi after was suffocating. Kise couldn't bring up another subject even if he wanted to. It was still possible to feel the tenseness in the atmosphere despite not being able to see. Eventually after what felt like years to Kise, the taxi stopped and he felt Haizaki's hand release his. Sitting lost for a moment, he began to worry if he was being deserted before he heard the 'click' of a released lock and then felt himself being guided out of the taxi. His head grazed the car ceiling slightly before Haizaki pushed it down, laughing. Kise smiles a little.

"Well welcome to my… I mean our home." Haizaki said looking at the shabby little apartment.

Kise couldn't exactly see what the place looked like but felt something preventing him from bringing it up. An image of an apartment complex painted blue entered his mind for reasons unknown to him and it stays that way. Henceforth, Haizaki's apartment is now blue. He let himself be brought up a flight of steps- one hand slung around Haizaki's shoulder as the man directed his actions to ensure he doesn't fall or injure himself anymore. They climbed up one, two, three storeys. On more than one occasion, Kise places his foot wrongly, throwing off his balance. With much stumbling, the duo slowly but surely make their way up. "Sorry the lift isn't working now." Haizaki says somewhere along the way. Taking a sharp left turn, they walk down the corridor for a little bit until Haizaki come to a stop, fishes out some keys and unlocks the door to the house Kise presumes is theirs.

Guiding Kise in first, Haizaki follows soon after. "Well then, please do make yourself at home Ryouta."

Then he is roughly pulled somewhere. Haizaki tells him that's where he would be sleeping and brings him to the bed where he insists the blond needs rest. 'Must be my bedroom', Kise registers before he realizes he is indeed tired. It was only climbing up the stairs, a simple feat that would have usually taken him a few minutes at best. Today though, whilst trying to rely on his other senses to determine his direction and move accordingly was much harder than he had expected as he faced difficulty processing the new information. Being unable to see also disabled him from feeling his foot firm on the floor even though he knew it was. It took much convincing before he was brave enough to take another step. He felt like a helpless child. In a matter of minutes he lets his thoughts lull him to sleep.

* * *

The next day Kise decides to familiarize himself with the place, Haizaki did tell him this place was his home now. He starts with the bedroom he's using. By the end of the afternoon he is somewhat able to find the bedroom's windows and the small night table by the bed. Haizaki watches him with mild amusement before he finally decides to tell Kise that he doesn't need to do anything of this sort, that it's just fine if he stays in the room obediently and lets Haizaki get him anything he wanted.

"I can't just sit around and do nothing Shougo-kun, be-" Kise starts but is cut off by a strong hand wrapped around his throat, effectively silencing him. Kise can't even gulp and it amplifies the terror that had struck him when he is unable to launch into old habits.

"That's a good idea though Ryouta. Just stay here and don't do anything, I'll do it all for you. If you go out again, you're just going to be hurt all over again. So just stay here and don't do anything." Haizaki says so monotonously flat he seemed to be void of emotions.

That was the first time Kise thinks it might be a bad idea to stay with this man. Of course it's not like he knew anyone else at all nor did he have the confidence to escape soundly.

Dinner time was relatively peaceful with Haizaki helping to feed Kise since the boy is currently unable to feed himself. Kise notices that he shoves the food in rather roughly, scraping Kise's teeth several times and jabbing into his flesh several more. Apart from the small grunts of discomfort, the only other sound was the tinkling of metal hitting glass as Haizaki scooped the food. It echoed in the empty kitchen and sounded louder than it should have been.

Finally Kise gathers enough courage to ask if he's allowed to listen to the television while he eats. The other male agrees before Kise hears the sound of wood scraping against marble followed by footsteps. From there, a lady speaks in a firm voice.

_"Welcome to news at 6 June twentieth edition. Onto top stories this evening, the mysterious crash of the AirCar F890 on Wednesday during its maiden flight has yet to be resolved however it is still sparking off huge debate among netizens all across the globe. Officials are still looking into the cause of accident and as of now there are no known-"_

In no time, Haizaki's thumb is on the off button of the remote control. "Is that… was that my flight?" Kise asks shakily although a part of him already knew the answer. An even larger part of him doesn't want Haizaki to answer the question. When the answer escapes Haizaki's lips though, Kise swears he went momentarily deaf too as the impact of the retriggered grief brought about another set of tears from his honey brown eyes.

Haizaki comforts the blond with pats and Kise was never allowed to know what was happening in the news after that.

* * *

Undeterred, Kise still continues to learn to move around the house whenever Haizaki is out at work. He starts small, only moving out of the bedroom after the second week when he's really sure he can navigate through his own bedroom. He uses his sense of touch to identify objects and draws out a mental map of the area. Without a walking stick Kise has to paw the floor with his hands to make sure he doesn't trip over anything. The jingle of keys outside the door always sends Kise back into the room he's supposed to be in and everything's going well for a month until one day, during his adventures, he let himself get too carried away and wound up lost.

Haizaki comes back to find Kise not sitting on the bed like he's supposed to but sprawled in the living room and he sees red.

"What are you doing here? I told you not to leave the room!"

Kise barely thinks of something to say before he's knocked over to his side by a sharp blow to his mid-torso. What? Unfortunately Haizaki doesn't stop there. "Do you live to torment me? I keep worrying about what to do if you were to get injured again and you purposely go out looking for trouble!"

A dry laugh escapes Haizaki's throat as he kicks the blond with his left foot, pinning him onto the ground at the same time. What? What? What?

Kise tries to grab onto the foot holding him down in an attempt to lift it off his chest. Haizaki drives it in further until Kise has to gasp for air. His eyes twitch in excitement as an idea hits him. "You should just stay like this, then there's no way you can leave." He releases the hold and bends down, fists lifted. Oh yes, he would leave the blond too broken to stand, only then will he entrust everything to him. The fist swung down, a blow landing on Kise's right cheek. The other hand leaves a bruise on his left cheek. Then there's one to the gut, one to the chest and a few others dotted throughout his body.

The blond is screaming now, a mixture of apologies and howls as he is hit repeatedly by the man above him. When it finally ends, Kise can't so much as move as he is lifted into his own room and placed on the bed. A soft kiss is pressed to his forehead as he falls asleep.

Against his better judgement, Kise stops trying to move in the house. He feels strange, like he's losing a bit of himself every time he simply complies with Haizaki's commands. All the while Haizaki becomes more irritable by the day and the beating become more frequent and for more extreme reasons. Kise knows it would not be wise to submit but something in him always tells him Haizaki isn't hurting him for no reason as he continues latching on to Haizaki as his only ray of hope.

If there isn't Haizaki, there isn't anything else. Haizaki wasn't wrong, Haizaki was merely protecting him.

* * *

Imayoshi has had enough of it.

That's the only reason he used his authority to find the address of a certain tanned police officer under his department and is currently standing in front of it. Beside him was Momoi Satsuki who held in her hand the key to the apartment before them. Today there was one mission he had to accomplish, an important one too. Today he would drag Aomine Daiki back to work whether the latter wanted to or not.

Aomine Daiki was horrible when it came to written work, his ugly handwriting and terribly crumpled coffee stained paperwork being the bane of Imayoshi's existence. However, on the actual field he was a genius like no other. He had the physique, his reflexes were good and his instinct was spot on. In summary, Aomine was a great asset to the police department.

Five months ago, his lover was on board the AirCar F890 which crashed shortly after takeoff. Of course, Kise was thought to be dead and Aomine just became dysfunctional. What he didn't know was that the possibility of Kise's survival was high. The hospital had verified that Kise was indeed a patient under their care for a short period of time after the crash. The man was lucky that his fall was cushioned by trees and the other bodies resulting in a miraculous zero damage to most of his physical body. They never got a chance to access his mental wellbeing for he was kidnapped a few days later. The hospital had covered this story from the news and reported it to the police instead.

The case boggled all the detectives on the case for everyone in the hospital had no problem remembering the blonds' admittance but no one remembered him leaving. The medical files relating to the case was also deleted and no one has seen the man since. Whoever it was had also been smart enough to hack into the security system to shut down the cameras before sneaking out of the hospital with Kise.

Imayoshi put up with Aomine and his nonsense a lot because Aomine usually produced good results (although mostly coupled with many complaints from citizens and other colleagues) but enough was enough, he needed Aomine back on the team especially with a case like Kise's. It just so happens, by a welcomed slip of tongue, Momoi had mentioned Aomine and Kise's relationship over coffee break the previous day. She'd never breathed a word before as it was unspoken law to keep work and personal affairs separated and she had made some sort of promise to Aomine but who was Imayoshi to pass up on good blackmail material when he saw one?

"Just so you know, if Dai-chan asks, I'm not involved in this." The pink haired intelligence expert clarifies just as she pushed the door open. Imayoshi gave her his usual smile and she knew immediately what he was conveying through that expression. It sort of went like 'I'll be quiet unless it is disadvantageous to be or if it works in my favour.' Momoi sighed. The captain could be very evil at times.

"Dai-chan!" She calls out with her eyes briefly scanning the apartment to check its cleanliness. If it was possible the already cluttered floor just doubled its amount of junk in a short one week since Momoi's last visit. "Cap's here to see you."

As if on auto-pilot her legs bring her straight to the bedroom where, true enough, Aomine was laying face flat on the bed buried under a mountain of messy clothes. He made a low sound to acknowledge her presence but otherwise did not budge a bit.

"Ya Aomine, how's it going?" Imayoshi starts off polite enough, once the mandatory pleasantries were out of the way though, "Get your ass back to work. We have a large case to deal with."

Aomine makes a sound of protest definitely not in the mood to follow whatever orders he was being issued. Momoi starts packing up her childhood friend's room as a distraction, better start now than later. She does keep a keen eye on the two males, feeling a small sense of curiosity brewing in face of such a situation.

"If you do not take this case, the police department will drop it you know." Imayoshi continues although he doesn't sound the least bit desperate about the case's future. Aomine remains silent.

"Still no?" He guesses turning to head out of the room, "Then I guess it's fine if Kise Ryouta remains missing forever."

With the intention of observing Aomine's response he turns his head around a little only to be shocked stiff when the man is already behind him, grabbing his wrist and glaring. "What do you mean by that?" The voice was hoarse and sounded like it hasn't been used for a while.

"Exactly what I just said. The police department is dropping the missing person case because no one seems to be able to get to the bottom of it, unless someone is willing to take up the case, of course." Imayoshi's eyes are barely visible but it is obvious they're sparkling even as he suppressed the smirk from playing on his lips. Aomine continues staring the male down seeming to contemplate the problem.

"That position is open at the moment, would you be interested." Imayoshi offers. Aomine sighs. Momoi knows he's had. Sometimes she thinks her captain should be handcuffing himself instead, like now for instance.

Finally Aomine announces he'd take the case. Imayoshi visibly looks victorious and he turns to leave once more. "Oh right, I want you to work out a bit before reporting to work again. Five months of lying on a bed would affect one's physical performance. And do something about your appearnace too." Soon after, the door is shut and Momoi lifts up the last of the emptied styrofoam instant noodle cup in his room.

"Welcome back to the team Dai-chan."

* * *

Aomine does what he's told for the next two weeks. He shaves off the facial hair that has grown during his period of wallowing in self-pity. He cuts his hair too. And he works out. Mornings and evenings in the gym become a routine. Some afternoons he calls Kagami out to a basketball court where they play one-on-ones. Kagami's complaints flow like running water but he shows up at the court nonetheless, ten minutes early to boot.

Having been born with a great physique paired with the rigorous workout regime whips Aomine back into shape in no time. Momoi is pleased with his progression. Even the garbage back at his place visibly lessens. She chuckles slightly when she recalls the trigger of Aomine's spontaneous change, what could she say, she was a born romantic.

Aomine trudges down the road solemnly stealing glances at his phone to check the time. He was late to their pre-arranged meeting. Kagami would definitely get mad. How pleasant. Not that he was completely to blame; the bus was too crowded so he had to wait for the next one. He spins the ball on one finger- with the occasional throw- as he continues to walk down at his normal speed. Being late as opposed to how much he was late by was the main issue of concern here, at least to the redhead that is.

The navy haired man never expected to have the ball fly out of his hands when he used too much force to toss the ball into the air. Perhaps even more unexpected was what he saw as the ball sailed through the sky, towards the stairs of an apartment block- a familiar yellow flash.

* * *

"What?" Haizaki exclaims making it seem less of a question and more of a demand.

"I was wondering if I ever have to return to the hospital again for follow ups or something…" Kise repeats. Ever since he's came to Haizaki's he's never once stepped foot out of the house. How he wanted to stretch his legs and move around, breathe fresh air and feel real wind blowing against his face not just artificial ones.

He had tried leaving the house several times. Those endeavors always lead to body aches and fresh wounds upon his pale skin. On a particularly bad occasion, Kise nearly had his leg broken as he was shoved on the kitchen table at a horrible angle. Recently, Haizaki has also developed a liking for using weapons. There was the mop once, the plates on another occasion, basically anything he could get his hands on. Kise really wanted to go out now. He doesn't think he should go against Haizaki so much, the man only meant well after all, but he doesn't know how much more he can bare to stay cooped up in a room with nothing to do either because he couldn't see or Haizaki disapproved claiming it was too dangerous.

Kise doesn't even have to see to know what's coming. Sure enough, a harsh slap to his face makes him lose his balance. Haizaki is screaming at him again. Kise knows he's done wrong again and he feels bad for constantly upsetting the person he loves this way. This time round however, Haizaki storms out of the house instead of bringing Kise to his bed like he usually does.

With this opportunity Kise tries to get out of the house. The door is slammed shut but not locked; Kise wonders what Haizaki has gone to do. He promises himself, he would just be out for a little bit before he makes him way slowly down the way he remembered coming up. Placing a hand on the wall to trace his way to the stairs, he realizes he doesn't know where the lift is, he locates the stairs when he no longer feels pressure against his palm. Grabbing onto the railing as support, he descends the three storeys he remembers climbing.

As the railing comes to an end, he places his foot down on flat ground and is filled with a sense of accomplishment and pride. The pleasant feeling doesn't last long as something hits him square in the face.

"Kise?"

The man in question snaps his head towards the direction of the voice calling him. Wait, someone calling him?

"You're Kise, right?" The voice speaks again, this time with greater urgency.

"I think I am." Kise replies uncertainly which was partially true. He is pulled into a hug faster than he could organize his thoughts properly and he tries to push the stranger away from him although not succeeding. "Who are you?"

The muscular chest pressed against his flinches. Who? Aomine is stunned by the question. Kise doesn't remember him? Apart from that something about the blonds' reactions struck off as weird. To begin with, he didn't seem to notice the basketball at all earlier, even smiling to himself seconds before impact. His struggles seem strange as well, almost as if he didn't quite know what he was doing. Almost as if he couldn't see. In addition, Kise looks unhealthy. His pale skin paler than usual, he looks skinnier like he hasn't been eating well and that ever present sparkle in his eyes has faded.

"Let go of me. I don't know who you are."

"You really don't remember?" Kise gasps at the sense of déjà vu of the question except it carried more grief as compared to when he had first been asked this question.

"Daiki, why are you here?"

Kise recognizes the voice instantly, it was Haizaki's. The stranger hugging him tightens his hold. "That's what I'd like to ask you." He spat the words like they were acid. Kise grows more puzzled by the second. These two know each other? This man named Daiki, was he a friend from before?

"This is my house and you're holding my boyfriend." Haizaki calmly replies. Aomine glares at him not believing the second part of the statement. With a little playful laugh Haizaki directs his attention to Kise. "Go ahead Ryouta, tell this man what I've said is true. Tell him you're mine."

Kise hesitates. He doesn't know why it hurt so much to say those words. His throat feels like it's on fire and his chest is constricted. He felt like he would break into a thousand pieces if he said what he had been told to say. That person named Daiki remains silent but Kise can feel his expectant gaze on him.

"Y-yes."

The small shaky voice eventually chokes out with much difficulty. Haizaki's laugh is maniacal as he pulls Kise away from Aomine. Kise feels his eyes well up slightly while Haizaki roughly pushes him into the lift. This time, they reach Haizaki's apartment quickly and the atmosphere is no longer cheerful. Kise gulps knowing for sure he would be punished for leaving the house.

Meanwhile downstairs Aomine whips out his phone to call a certain waiting friend of his.

"About goddamn time you called Assholemine."

Aomine ignores the insult. There were more pressing issues at hand. "I'm not coming today."

"What's that? Want me to punch your face in?"

"I've got work to do."

"Work? You're going to start searching for him." Kagami asked sounding incredulous.

"No."

"Huh?"

"I've already found him."

* * *

A/N: Hey, updates will be irregular and maybe not for a month due to upcoming exams. This time I've introduced new characters and this story is only estimated to have six chapters so I don't consider it all that long. As a side note, there is a time lapse between the last part of the first chapter and the beginning of this chapter. I apologise if my pacing/ formatting is unclear. Proof-read by myself which means I may have left out certain mistakes/ not know they're mistakes at all. Still, comments and constructive criticism are welcomed.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **A big thanks to everyone who has reviewed/ followed/ favourited so far. Let me just say that this chapter is a pain to write, I'm still unhappy with it to the point of considering re-writing but let me know what you think.

**Summary: **Kise firmly believes that Haizaki is the person who saved him from his darkest moments and despite the occasional beatings, he would still love him. Then, Aomine comes along.

**Warning:** Possibly OOC. A dash of OCs. Vulgarities and violence. BoyxBoy. Spoilers if you follow the anime only. Errors. Self-edited. Imperfect English

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke, obviously.

* * *

It was quiet, much too quiet for comfort, as the little rusty elevator made its slow ascend. With a small 'ting', it reaches its destination and the people riding it get off- one walks while the other is pulled. Kise doesn't want to go back, not yet for many reasons. He hasn't had enough fresh air, that's the first one. Additionally, he knows Haizaki is furious and Haizaki plus furious always means pain. Then there's that guy:

Daiki.

Kise is certain he knows this person and that's why he wants to talk to him, wants to ask him, and wants to learn more about himself. Was he a friend? Did they attend school together? Maybe he was a distant relative? Were they close? How close? Why did he feel like he's just done something extremely unpleasant to the man?

Haizaki takes care of him, protects him even, but he never mentions anything about his past. Sometimes in his state of boredom, he tries to recall all that he possibly can about his life before the tragic incident. All that leaves him is a throbbing headache afterwards. When Kise tries to bring it up Haizaki always dismisses it by saying he doesn't need to know, he doesn't need them anymore. It's not something the blond believes but even so he stays obediently quiet. There was no need to trouble Haizaki any further.

In no time, they've come to a halt. Kise feels that the walk should have taken longer than it actually had. Shoved into the house unceremoniously, Kise is sprawled on the floor and all is quiet until he hears the ominous click of the lock. He gulps, already steeling himself for the worst.

To his utter confusion Haizaki laughs. Now that was something new besides the fact that Haizaki almost never laughs and the only other time Kise ever heard them was roughly three minutes ago. "Shougo…-kun?" Kise's unsure trembling voice reflects the fear and uncertainty that has etched its way into his heart.

Haizaki merely spares him a look before crouching down so he's closer to the man on the floor. With one hand he cups Kise face and can't help his lips from tugging into a smile when memories of the scene downstairs a while ago flash in his mind. Aomine's appearance was completely unexpected. Not that Kise's escape from the house was part of his calculations either but it turned out a lot better than he could have ever imagined. The look on Aomine's face when Kise admitted to being his was a perfect blend of anger and grief, of disbelief and sorrow. The very expression Haizaki had wished for the tanned man to wear since the Winter Cup of his first year in high school. How he despised that navy haired man for that blow to his face and, more importantly, his pride. He swore he would get his revenge one way or another.

Years down the road Haizaki learns about how the man has found himself a boyfriend and it becomes Haizaki's personal pet project to steal that person away. When he finds out its Kise he would be stealing, he couldn't be more overjoyed. He did have a score to settle with the blond too, playing with his feelings as well would be killing two birds with one stone. Of course, the duo doesn't make his goal any easier to accomplish. But by some divine stroke of luck, Haizaki hears of Kise's airplane crash and immediately sets into motion a new plan, along with the help of a drinking buddy he meets in a pub one day and the results are marvelous. Kise now dances in the palm of his hand and Aomine, oh that expression alone was enough for revenge.

"You did well today Ryouta." Haizaki praises still staring at Kise's face with a look of pure satisfaction; one Kise wouldn't be able to see. Oh well, Kise did a good job today and for that, he wouldn't scold him for running away. Although prevention measures will be put in place to ensure any further repetition of Kise running away does not occur.

"That person… did I know him?" Kise asks despite knowing he would probably be stepping on a landmine, that whatever reason Haizaki had for not punishing him yet would be overcome with renewed rage. He had to know, though. The guilt he currently felt was enough to rival the fear and Kise feels like he must justify his actions. If he knew what Daiki meant to him then… What good would it actually do? Still he had to figure it out and apologise, considering if he ever met the man again that is.

Haizaki's grip slips from his cheek to his neck and tightens considerably. "Don't care about that bastard. Not him, especially not him. Never." Haizaki murmurs so dangerously softly Kise feels his body trembling. At first, he's enraged but then he thinks of an idea, something to spice things up a little more. He has no doubts that Aomine would attempt to talk to Kise again and this time he would break him even more. The smirk he wears is full of malice as he continues, "He was your ex and you hated him for everything he's ever done to you. How he cheats on you with plenty of other girls. How he mistreats you whenever you're together. How he doesn't give a damn about your feelings. You can't let him hurt you again, not this time."

Kise is stunned speechless. Was that the kind of relationship he had with that person? It has to be a lie, Kise thinks. He can't just brush off the feeling of distrust he has developed towards Haizaki's answer. There was just something about the way he was hugged, something so tender so warm that Kise has a hard time buying Haizaki's answer. Those arms had felt way too comforting to have ever hurt him. It just didn't feel right. But Haizaki would never lie to him. The Haizaki he loved would never betray him. Right?

The confusion written clearly all over Kise's pale face makes Haizaki smile proudly a little before hoisting the man up. He carries Kise to his bedroom and places him on the bed before he reaches into his pocket to extract the shiny metallic objects he'd gone to retrieve in the first place since he felt Kise was becoming more and more rebellious. Too rebellious for his own good.

With a sharp snap, Kise realizes his fate has been sealed for good. Upon his feet were chains, strong ones at that, chains that bound him to the bed and left him unable to leave of his own accord. "What? What's going on Shougo-kun? What's this?" Kise frantically asks while fumbling around in panic. The chains felt cold and restricting, it was something Kise couldn't tolerate.

"It's for the best Ryouta, with these you can't away from me again. I'll keep you safe for all eternity."

Kise could feel his lips quivering. This was for the best? But it made him feel so pathetically small. Then again, Haizaki did say it so that's the way it should be, he supposed.

That night as he fell asleep more than a few tears streaked down his face despite his best efforts to bay them and the name of that mysterious stranger kept bouncing around in his head. Daiki.

* * *

Imayoshi was sitting calmly at his desk, examining the document files of the recent case Sakurai and Wakamatsu had solved regarding a certain bank robbery whilst enjoying his evening dose of caffeine, just a few more hours before he could go home and sleep. Today had been a good day too. The massive robbery case was dealt with, there had only been a minimal number of complaints from the public, no sign of any other highly organized crime about to take place, and according to Momoi, Aomine's recuperation was going well. And Aomine not giving him a headache was about as rare as finding a shiny Pokemon.

Naturally the bliss was not to last.

"Ah A-Aomine-san its b-been a while h-hasn't it?" Sakurai's jittery voice floated through the corridor, increasing in volume as he approached. And he had a guest apparently.

"Don't think you can just waltz in here whenever you feel like it asshole. What's with your five and a half months disappearance, huh?" This time it was Wakamatsu who was shouting.

Aomine hadn't replied to either of them but not long after Imayoshi heard his office door being banged open and sighed. "Welcome back and what may I do for you?" He asked, baring his displeasure at the intrusion yet refusing to set down the documents in his hand yet.

"I want you to put me back on the team now." Aomine replies surely. Now Imayoshi looks up at him, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Right now?"

"Yes now."

"Why the sudden spurt of energy?" He asks, a small smile creeping its way to his lips at his junior's sudden determination. It wasn't hard to figure out that something must have happened and Imayoshi just loved to see Aomine all enthusiastic and boiling. Whatever the something was, it had to be good stuff.

At this point, a mop of pink hair appears at the door. Momoi Satsuki must have caught wind that her best friend was back at the station and promptly rushed over to where she suspected he might be. Her woman's intuition was still sharp as sharp as ever. She thought Aomine wasn't scheduled to be back until another two more weeks and sincerely hoped he wasn't getting himself into any trouble.

"Because I need to be a part of the force before I can break into someone's house legally."

Was Aomine's determined response. Imayoshi couldn't help but snicker slightly at the answer. "Dai-chan!" Momoi screams in protest, really thinking most of the police force ought to be thrown in jail themselves. Sakurai looks mortified. Wakamatsu finds his dislike for Aomine tune down just barely, it was a pity he wouldn't be able to be physically present himself.

Imayoshi's snickering escalates into full blown laughter and tears start brimming in his eyes. Oh how his junior could be so hilarious at times. He agrees to it anyway although with help from Momoi, manages to coax the man into starting work the following day. He definitely didn't want Aomine barging into houses at seven in the night for not only would it be horribly unproductive, all he'd generate given his inability to operate stealthily would be mountains of complaints. Now that's something Imayoshi could live without.

Early the next morning, it took only five seconds after the first knock for Aomine to open the door already fully donned in his standard department issued police uniform. This fact startled Momoi to no end as she would usually be made to give up knocking in favour of opening the door herself. Even after that it required much prodding, pestering and nagging before Aomine was so much as half motivated enough to drag himself out of bed and into the washroom.

But this surprising turn of events was hardly an unpleasant one. Momoi smiled a little to herself before extending her hand to the tanned man, "Let's go Dai-chan." They were waiting for the lift when she decides it safe enough to voice her opinion on his tardiness. "Boy, you sure are early today, aren't you."

"Speak for yourself since when do you ever started working at four thirty in the morning?" Aomine retorts raising an eyebrow.

"It can't be helped that I want to find Kicchan too, although not as much as you." Momoi states with a huff, "everyone is concerned about him too you know."

"Then you're lucky you came when you did because I would just have driven off by myself if you'd been any later."

"You're lying Dai-chan. You can't drive for shit and you haven't driven in five months, whatever amateur skill you once had should have faded away by now."

Aomine growls at the harsh reminder as he buckles himself into the little police car. Momoi triumphantly smiles before stepping on the gas and they're on their way to the address Aomine had imputed and saved in his phone. Seriously, he was no fool.

He even took note of the floor the lift had stopped at and had been overjoyed to find that same old stupid Haizaki did not even bother to try and fool him. Unless he was setting him up but that couldn't be possible. With their information and a little bit of snooping around the block, they found Haizaki's living apartment pretty quickly. Next step; enter.

As they had expected, the door was locked and no amount of knocking or banging in Aomine's case, could coax the inhabitants into a response. Neither Momoi nor Aomine suspected the house of being empty though and Momoi was doing her best to restrain her best friend from just breaking down the door.

"Fine. Give me your hairpin then."Aomine demands with his palm stretched out expectantly.

Momoi is taken aback by the statement but quickly puts two and two together and figures out Aomine's intention to break into the house. "You can't do that Dai`chan! Even if we're cops it doesn't justify breaking and entering. And what are we going to say if any of the neighbours catch us? Cap. Imayoshi will be so mad." She whispers angrily to her partner.

Aomine grunts but he pulls the pin rather forcefully out of her hair anyway, extracting a yelp of pain from her. Words of reassurance are uttered before he bolts out of sight. Momoi rests her head in her hands while letting out a long exasperated sigh. What the hell does Aomine mean by saying its ok if he enters through the window? That's not the least bit fine either!

But Aomine being Aomine had already disappeared out of her line of sight before she could even raise a single word of protest. Sighing, she ditches the apartment instead choosing to go wait by the car where she awaited news of Kise. And her hairpin too she thinks as the chilly wind whips her hair into a mess. Man, winter was already coming.

* * *

Aomine uses the pipe along with whatever juts out from the wall as support as he scales the flat. Somewhere along the way, he slips a little and scraps the palm of his left hand. Still he presses on until he reaches the window he's looking for. Panting slightly he takes Momoi's pin out of his pocket with his right hand while his left grabs on tightly to the metal bar above the window for support. Grimacing at the pressure being exerted onto his newly acquired injury he makes as quick a job of the lock as possible. It really was bad luck his left hand couldn't twist pins expertly enough to pick locks.

The small 'click' signifies a job well done and Aomine hurriedly pushes himself over the ledge, into the room, kicking over several cups that had been resting on the table in the process.

"Shougo-kun?" Kise uncertain voice resonates from the other end of the hall. Kise is baffled to say the least. Hadn't Haizaki already left earlier, he even had some meeting of some sort to attend and had left earlier than usual. There were possibilities of course. "Did you forget something?"

He is met with nothing but silence as Aomine makes his way to the room without a word. Kise is anxious now. Why would Haizaki be back so quickly? Why was he so eerily quiet? Did he do something wrong again? There was nothing he could evidently remember doing to have upset his boyfriend that he hadn't already been punished for, was there?

Aomine makes his way towards the bed where he finds the blond sitting on silently. Kise doesn't flinch, doesn't even make a comment about the male's intrusion, he merely stares at his fingers and twirls them around and around nervously. Indeed he is behaving way too strangely. "Kise." He calls as gently as he could muster.

The man snaps his head towards the source of the sound. This voice was vaguely familiar and yet Kise couldn't quite place it but it was definitely not Haizaki's. Then realization hits him, the person from yesterday! He retreats as best as he could in his state of blind helplessness. This person had harmed him before.

"Kise, why are you running away from me?" The tone sounds so hurt it shocks Kise into forgetting he was trying to put as much distance as possible between them. Kise doesn't know he should react to that question. Why was he evading him? Why, it was simply because he feared him. Yet somewhere inside, he doesn't want to be apart from the other person's company at all. There were a variety of reasons: he wanted the companionship the other male offered, he wanted to know more about the past he never knew he had, and he just feels safer for reasons unknown to him.

"Stay a-away." Kise stutters. Aomine finds that he absolutely hates the way Kise is looking so frail and unsure, so lost, so broken, as was reflected by the tears that glazed his golden yellow eyes.

"Do you know who I am?" Aomine challenges. Kise's tongue is tied. All he knows is all Haizaki's told him and every fiber in his body is telling him that's a lie.

"I know your name is Daiki… You called out to me after I was hit with something, and then you hugged me…" It doesn't really answer the question but it's all Kise can manage to utter.

Aomine stares at the slumped figure a while longer before moving over to sit on the bed, the old bed frame creaks a little with the introduction of the added weight. Kise hiccups a little. He knows Daiki is there and yet he was unable to do anything. As Aomine sits on the bed with his legs tapping carelessly on the floor he ponders the awkwardness of the situation. Damn, having a smooth tongue has never been his forte. He notices how the blond retracts a little, how his arms are pulled across his body in a defensive posture.

"Are you really that afraid of me?"

The question appears to startle Kise as he jolts slightly. "B-But Shougo-kun s-said…"

"And when have those bastard's words ever mattered?"

"But he's my boyfriend. That's why, that's why…"

Aomine cringes at the statement. It sounded wrong, it felt wrong. What poisonous rubbish has that asshole been feeding his Kise? Then again, it just might explain some of Kise's weird reactions. "Ok that's it we're getting out of here."

Conflicted feeling swirled around in Kise. He would like to leave the house but he doesn't. He is afraid of Daiki but he isn't. "I can't."

"Yes you are. You are classified under missing person and are to be brought back to the station immediately."

Kise looks up with so much bewilderment on his face at the statement it was enough to surprise Aomine as well. His mouth opens and closes a couple of times, as if he wants to say something but isn't sure what. Aomine stands up and extends his hand to Kise, gesturing for him to follow. Oddly enough, Kise stares at the hand but doesn't move, doesn't even show any sign of acknowledging the palm before him. Strange, it's almost like he can't see. The thought crosses Aomine's mind a second time within twenty-four hours and his suspicion tugs annoyingly at his conscious.

Just to be sure he raises three fingers and holds them in front of the blonde's face, the basic test. As he expects Kise doesn't so much as bat an eyelash. Nothing. "You can't see." It was a mere whisper but Kise tenses up incredibly when he hears it. The action does nothing but confirm Aomine's suspicions. So he can't see and he can't remember.

He's too rash. Aomine knows this because it's something Momoi takes upon herself to constantly repeat in his ear. Sometimes though, it's better to not think that much. And Aomine is in the midst of pulling Kise before he realizes Kise's handcuffed to the bed frame by his legs. Oh, Haizaki was going to be a dead man. Kise squirms in his grip looking even more scared than he already was.

Aomine growls. "Hey I'm not going to do anything so stop resisting."

"B-B-But…"

The excessive use of 'buts' in one day was really starting to grate on Aomine's patience. Here he was already trying to take this with all the sense and reason he could muster while Kise, his lover, whom he hasn't met in months treats him like he doesn't mean a thing. He is afraid of him for crying out loud.

Using the pin he'd snatched from Satsuki earlier, Aomine expertly picks the handcuffs open. He was a cop for a reason after all. Before he reaches to pull the blond again, he lets his hand rest tentatively on Kise's arm and squeezes reassuringly, "I don't care what Haizaki's said about me but, I'm Aomine Daiki and you can be sure as hell you're going to remember me."

For some reason, Kise decides he wants to leave the house after all.

* * *

Momoi Satsuki was starting to get tired of waiting. Within the past ten minutes, she had fiddled idly with her phone but there was absolutely nothing worthwhile on it. She turned on the radio in time to hear a man belting out some love song. Geez, being Aomine's partner sure had many downsides. Another five minutes later, she spots her tanned best friend waking out of the apartment while supporting a certain blond over his shoulders.

She brightens up instantly. How she missed having the pilot's company, he's the only one who shared her passion for watching dramas and they constantly shared opinions and predictions with each other. They also liked to send new recommendations to each other. Whenever that happens, it is usually a fuming Aomine who gets caught in the middle and he somehow manages to complain all the way.

"Kicchan! Dai-chan!" She calls excitedly, waving wildly at the duo as they make their way to the car. Aomine grunts in response. Kise looks around quizzically. Kicchan? Dai-chan? Was that referring to the two of them? It probably did since it corresponds with their names which meant someone else whom he ought to know.

Kise is helped into the backseat of the car where he sits and listens to the two people discuss matters he doesn't understand much like a how a child would observe his parents. Their voices are tiny and muffled so Kise guesses they aren't in the car yet. He catches whiff of something about vision and memory so he supposes Aomine is explaining the current conditions to the strange woman that had called out to them earlier.

"What do you mean he's lost his memory? And he can't see?"Momoi practically screams when she's told the news. "Are you trying to tell me Kicchan… That can't be possible."

"Unfortunately it is."

Momoi swears she could feel herself on the brink of crying then she notices Aomine's expression. Poorly concealed anguish has etched itself into his face, carved into the very essence of his features. Momoi decides to gulp down her own emotions, at least whilst professionalism still called for it, "We could bring him to Midorin's clinic. It's also in Tokyo. I'm sure if it was medical, he'd know what to do. And he would be thrilled to see Kicchan too!"

Aomine feels like scoffing. Knowing that green-haired tsundere, he would definitely not admit he was worried about Kise at all. He bites it back and agrees nonetheless, purposely choosing to sit behind with Kise throughout the ride.

"Um Aomine-san," Kise asks after a long period of silence. Both Aomine and Momoi frown slightly at how Kise suddenly feels so distant from them. "Who?"

"Oh right, that's Momoi Satsuki. She's a… friend." Aomine answers. Kise is taken aback. He had expected to be hit, or strangled or shouted at but Aomine had done none of those things. On the contrary, he's answered him nicely. Maybe now I'll finally get some answers. But before he could ask anymore, they arrive at wherever they had been driving to and the three of them eventually get out of the car.

Warm air coupled with the faint smell of antiseptic greets him after a while of walking. "Aomine-san what am I doing here?"

"Its fine Midorima is a huge sourpuss of a friend but he's a good doctor."

Momoi sprints to the reception counter where Takao was busy organizing the piles of patient files on his table. Noticing Momoi, he was about to greet her when he notices the other two trailing behind her and lets his jaw drop in surprise. "Is that… Is that?" The pink-haired girl nods.

"We want to see Midorin I mean Dr. Midorima as soon as possible if you please."

Takao nods with understanding before scribbling something down on a paper, punching in all sorts of information into his computer and eventually disappearing behind the counter all together. His loud cries of "Shin-chan!" could be heard from the holding area.

Midorima waltzes out of his office a little while later, skeptical eyes scanning the area until they land on the familiar mop of yellow and he nearly gapes. He motions for them to enter the examination room and all three make their way slowly there. Kise shuffles anxiously, glancing around out of habit since he can't actually see. The hand on his waist pulls him closer. "Relax." Came the coarse whisper and Kise finds himself calming down at the smoothing tone of the masculine voice.

Seated on a chair, Midorima launches into the routine basic check. He's already been briefly informed of the situation from Momoi who currently sat beside Aomine, both was looking very worried. He takes Kise's temperature, heart rate, measures his pulse and finally sends the worrying friends out for their nail-biting and foot-tapping were getting too irritating for Midorima to work optimally.

After what feels like hours, Midorima draws out a conclusion from his analysis. "He has trauma-induced amnesia. I also believe his blindness may be caused by the shock since there is nothing actually physically wrong with his eyes." Momoi covers her mouth with her hands. Aomine looks crestfallen. Midorima and Takao look a bit down themselves. "Well, I'd suggest bringing him around to meet people he knows, see if we can make him remember anything. It would be better to use auditory means, of course. There isn't any medicine we can actually provide."

"Let me try then!" Takao exclaims with a large smile, "I'm Takao Kazunari. Ring a bell? No? Let's see um… Well I think the first time we actually talked was after watching the Rakuzan vs Seirin match during Winter Cup together. We met a lot subsequently. I always asked you about what Shin-chan was like in middle school because I was curious and you'd always offer me great love advice that only works one out of ten times..." Takao trailed off when he could not seem to jolt any form of recognition from Kise.

"And I have one additional piece of information to add, if you'll please." Midorima directed to Aomine and Momoi. The two approached him and he whispered something into their ear causing both their eyes to widen significantly.

Takao depressed from his failure dejectedly walks back to his place behind the counter. Alone, Kise feels lost although he knows he's supposed to be friends with the four people in the room. He wishes he could remember something but every time he tries, he feels his skull pulsate and the ripping pain causes him to stop trying. He always feels like the memories are right there though like he only needed to extend his hand and he would remember. But those hands are weighed down by a piercing pain every time he so much as tried to lift them.

He is snapped out of his musings by a hand placed on his shoulder. "Let's go and meet some people." It was Aomine who was speaking to him. He nods, very willing to try his best to remember whatever he could. Already he feels like he's hurt three people by simply not being able to recall who they were. He wasn't too sure about Midorima though since that guy's voice hadn't sounded particularly pained although he did make a funny sound at some point.

"Well then Dai-chan, I'll leave Kicchan to you. I'm going back to the station first." Momoi says before entering their police cruiser and driving away. The news Midorima told her previously still ringing in her ears.

"I'd better get back to work too. I still have other patients to attend to." Midorima retreats quickly back into his clinic.

Aomine has two other people in mind he wants Kise to meet. First being the perpetually invisible kindergarten teacher, Kuroko Tetsuya and the other being the annoyingly loud fireman, Kagami Taiga. Then he realizes both places were pretty far away and the only mode of transport he has now is walking. Takao is quick to offer him the rickshaw, though. After a quick double take Aomine decides it's better than nothing at the very least so he accepts the kind proposal.

The two make their way down the streets of Tokyo attracting the attention of bystanders as they went. Kise is tempted to ask more questions about his past but somehow the atmosphere doesn't feel appropriate. Aomine must need all his breath to pedal the rickety contraption anyway. After a while more of cycling both of them find that they're hungry, it was lunchtime, and so they mutually agree to stop by the Maji Burger that Aomine spots not too far from them.

"Oh! Well if it isn't Assholemine."

"What was that Bakagami? No, actually, just in time." Aomine pulls the blond with him towards the table where his redhead companion had called out to him from.

"Nice to meet you Aomine-kun. Kise-kun too." Kuroko says scaring Aomine out of his wits since he has failed, once again, to notice Kuroko's presence before the quiet boy spoke up. Kise visibly perks at the mention of his name.

"Oh Kise. It's been a long time huh? Where've you been?" Kagami casually asks.

It did not take long for the sitting couple to detect the anomaly, the most obvious sign being how Kise had failed to launch himself onto the smallest male amongst them and squeal his nickname at the top of his lungs. Then there was also how he didn't seem like his usual overly-cheerful, bubbly self. Even Kagami who was not exactly the brightest bulb in the box could tell something was not right.

"Yeah just listen to me first." Aomine explains the situation simply, Kagami and Kuroko only nod when they're told to try to spark off Kise's memories. Aomine has Kise squeezed into the booth beside Kuroko before he plunks down beside Kagami who was slightly ticked at having his date interrupted but refrained from saying anything in lieu of the situation. The tenseness is suffocating.

"I don't mind helping not now since it's my off day today but even if you say that I don't really know what to say…" Kagami mutters.

"Why not have Kise-kun ask questions, and then we'll answer them." Kuroko suggests in between sips of his vanilla milkshake.

"Ah that's a good idea Tetsu."

The spend the next few hours going back and forth this way with Kise asking and one or all of the other three answering him, sometimes whole stories are reminisced. They have short breaks whereby food and beverages are replenished. Aomine helps Kise with eating his burger; the movements are more delicate than when Haizaki messily shoves it into his mouth, Kise notes. By the time they end, the sun was already setting. Kagami and Kuroko declare their leave and get up to exit the restaurant.

Kise sits at the table, head woozy from the sudden influx of information. Tracing back, he recalls that he went to Teikou Middle School where he started playing basketball shortly after. As a regular member, he was a part of the famous Generation of Miracles along with Midorima Shintarou, the doctor and ex three-pointer shooting guard. Aomine Daiki, the policeman and ex power forward. Kuroko Tetsuya, the kindergarten teacher who used to play supporting role by specializing in passing. Momoi Satsuki, also a cop, was the manager and she did an incredible job gathering information on their enemies. Murasakibara Atsushi, currently a patisserie although he used to be an almost impregnable center. And Akashi Seijuurou, the captain and most feared point guard who was now a shogi player.

Kagami Taiga was someone he met in high school when his school, Kaijou High, had a practice match against Seirin and lost. Takao Kazunari from back at the clinic was also his friend and Midorima's partner. None of them mentioned Haizaki anywhere. Kise hadn't asked either since he was too distracted with other questions. One answer could raise several other questions to ask and it had stretched into hours before he knew it. Aomine said he'd take him to Kanagawa prefecture the next day to meet up with his old classmates as they'd be able to share some other information that Aomine probably hadn't had known since they went to different schools. He also wanted him to meet Murasakibara and Akashi. And he'd take him to see his family. Kise's parents had never liked the fact that her only son was dating a guy, although his sister had shown no signs of disapproval. Meeting Kise's parents has always been a hassle but Aomine knew he had to do it. In the meantime, Aomine decides to talk a little more with the blond he's missed.

They're at the nearby river, lying on the soft carpet of grass while the gentle breeze playfully pulls at their hair, the rickshaw parked on the road. "Kise, how did you meet Haizaki anyway?"

"Shougo-kun? He came to pick me up at the hospital. He's really sweet and he's been taking care of me all this time. He makes sure I don't get hurt and such."

Jealousy. It was definitely the jealousy that overcame Aomine, drowned out the rest of the blonds' answer and pushed him to act like he did. He barely recognized what he was doing, body leaning forward until he was just in front of the blond. His breath gave away his position spurring Kise to stop talking. He's about to ask what Aomine what he was doing when he feels something warm pressed against his lips.

Warmth radiated through his entire being as the sensation of familiarity and foreignness bloomed in him. He was being kissed. Aomine was kissing him. Both his heart and his head pounded noisily in their place. Kise can feel a headache coming again, the same kind he felt whenever he tried to remember something. Why? He wasn't even trying.

"Blah blah blah blah, stop spouting flowery nonsense about that bastard already." Aomine growls when he releases the kiss. He was already putting up with a lot at the moment there was no way he was going to stomach Kise singing praises of Haizaki to high heaven. Kise didn't like Haizaki. He had more than one reasons not to. The two had not gotten along since middle school and Haizaki was always finding some way or another to look for trouble with Kise.

Looking up, his eyes widen minutely at the sight. There Kise was sitting with his back facing the setting sun, its rays illuminating his gorgeous features.

"Aomine…cchi?"

Then he falls forward, eyes shut and barely breathing.

* * *

_****_**A/N:** This is the longest chapter I've ever written, ever. There's like 6k+ words, gosh. I find writing way more appealing than studying oh god, I'm so screwed. Well, I hope you've enjoyed it this time. I do plan on having something special next, I will epic fail but I will try regardless! The drama is also scheduled to pick up at chapter 5. I do apologise for butchering up some characters, I'm no good at imagining their responses so everything flows as it does in my head. Lauches into Sakurai-esqe apology. Do leave me a comment/ constructive criticism if you can and I will /try/ to reply. Cheers.


End file.
